Frank Cooper on “The Future of Media Companies” at SXSW Interactive

Written by Emma Stephens

“We believe empathy and human connection are the new superpowers for building a large audience.” – Frank Cooper

Day two of SXSW Interactive 2016 brought us Frank Cooper, CMO/COO of BuzzFeed, to discuss where he sees the future of media going based on trends both past and present. Two critical paths have emerged to reach a large-scale audience: pop culture superstars and giant brands. Both of these are built on mass marketing, a powerful audience, traditional talent, marketing-muscle, and traditional media.

While there is still a place for the classic broadcast, the mobile and social web has become the place to be. There the ordinary can become extraordinary, the experiment becomes the standard, and the outliers become the agenda-setting influencers. According to Cooper, it is even where classic marketing strategies can be turned on their heads by focusing on the individual consumer first, rather than the communities they associate themselves with. The primary driver of this is human connection at every level, as well as the potential for individuals to form communities based on fandom, friendship, and cultural groups. To see more of what we learned from The Future of Media Companies on March 12, watch the video above or check out our YouTube Channel here.

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